Here it is folks, the first installment of Sakes Alive!!’s tour journal. Check back over the next few days for the other entries and be sure to follow SA!!’s Twitter for first-hand updates from the band. Get in the van!
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Right now, I’m typing out our first tour journal post from inside the van on the road to Pittsfield, MA on my Blackberry phone. It’s absolutely fucking amazing the ridiculous amounts of luxuries people can “enjoy” these days. I can’t even fathom what it must have been like for bands like Minor Threat trying to head out on the road. It’s give and take though. Unlike back then when they were the lone guns on the field with limited resources. We’re one in a million with copious amounts of tools and gadgets. So it goes.
Sakes Alive!!, if you haven’t checked us out already, is a relatively unknown band from Rochester, NY that plays screamy punk rock. We consist of Chris Vandeviver (vocals, narrator), Tim Williams (guitarist), Mike Schwartz (bass), Kyle Kelly (guitarist), Dave O’Connor (drums), and Mike “Moose” Bendlin (merch). This is our summer tour being documented on Late Night Wallflower, thanks to the truly solid Matt Pullman. He generously took Sakes Alive!! into the LNW fold when I sent him a copy of our demo. Sakes Alive!! Is heading out on our longest stretch yet, sharing it with a number of bands on different dates.
Read more after the jump.
Our will is our only means. And by that, I mean our goal is to play music, tour, and live like vagabonds in hopes of living a life that is a bit more interesting than that of our at home lives. This is only accomplished by our willingness to put ourselves out on a limb. It’s been quite a struggle in itself to get ourselves up to being touring-capable. Between not having a van, to acquiring a van that’s from 1985 that couldn’t drive more than half an hour without overheating; to band members entering and exiting; to scraping together pocket change for gas or merch is daunting. But we’re hopeful like so many others out there. Life freaks us out a bit, and this lifestyle I suppose gives us an out.
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First day of tour started out on Tuesday, June 30th. We’ve come to realize that we tend to be late on past tours for just about everything. So we’ve been working on being more appreciative of the hospitality of show promoters. Tuesday was spent packing up, vacuuming our van, Vanny Tanner, the 1985 porno van with custom paint job. That guy is both our bane and saviour. Every tour we break an alternator belt in the beast, or overheat it, or something. Yet, it trucks us around the country even in the most white-knuckled, “I don’t think we’re gonna make it,” moments.
After Kyle and Mike got out of work, we met up at our practice space and loaded up. The practice space we had to negotiate our way out of paying for rent for the month of July, since we weren’t going to be there. The plan for the day was that we were going to go to Syracuse, NY to pick up a trailer. The past few tours we’ve been squeezing in the van everyone plus equipment. A video game chair stuffed between the two back bucket seats, and someone lying on the floor between the front two seats. Seating six people the space of about four, and the back stuffed to the brim with equipment, merch and personal belongings.
Not that we’re complaining. But Josh Barrett, one of the two brothers who released our first 7 inch “Act I,” works for a rental company who shall remain nameless. He offered us the opportunity to snag a 5′x8′ trailer for the price of $40 for a 30 day stretch. Something that would’ve cost about $600 normally. Being a young band is quite a bit of wheelin’ and dealin’ (you can see why they need to remain nameless).
So we left late to get there (haha), but no biggie for Josh. We met up and transferred our equipment from van to trailer in the lot. Space for once! Josh was letting us crash at his and his brother’s (Justin) house for the night. Hung out for a while and then went out to grab brews/sodas and some snacks. He was kind enough to order a pizza for us all. None of us have much money for the road. And of what we have, we’re saving for the delicacies of each town (grease trucks in New Brunswick, Philly cheese steaks in Philly). Laid around talking and watching Conan O’Brien. Eventually everyone passed out.
Next morning we woke up slowly, and then started rolling up tee shirts and taping them to make for an easier merch man experience (something we learned from our previous guitarist Graham Mitchell). Everyone took a turn rolling shirts up, taping them, writing sizes on the tape and counting. Quick walk break to a Dunkin Donuts and then headed out for our first show in Ithaca, NY.
Ithaca sits in the middle of a valley surrounded by massive hills. It’s also a really awesome nature/hippie town. Our drive in wasn’t too bad. Moose was meeting up with us in Ithaca cause he’s from the sticks and it made for an easy meeting spot. The goal we had before the show was to wander around the commons in Ithaca before load in. Torrential rain shot that down though. So we opted to drive directly to the house we were playing.
Bubba, the promoter for that night, is an absolutely solid guy who really lives what he believes. He runs Ithaca Underground, pretty much the life’s blood (from what I gather) of Ithaca’s local punk scene. He first booked us at the first all ages show at their large venue, The Haunt. Over a hundred kids came out, which blew our minds. Since then we had been itching to play there again. After some emailing over a couple months, he booked us in the basement of his house for our tour kick off.
He wasn’t out of work yet, so all we could do was hide out inside the van in his yard. Not much to entertain ourselves with unfortunately. Moose was cruising around Ithaca (with his mom) completely lost. Eventually, he started traveling up the hill we were sitting on, and by mere peripheral, he caught sight of the van’s goofy colors.
Team assembled, Bubba arrives home and we start loading in. Locals start arriving and setting up. Our band buddies for the first four days, Such Gold, arrive. Such Gold play killer, speedy pop-punk. Not akin to the bullshit these days, these guys want to stick to playing punk crowds. Touring with another band, we found out previously, is considerably sweeter than by yourself. You feel like you have a friends to hang with, even if the show is sort “eh.”
Kids start trickling in, and by the time the first band started, the basement is solidly filled. Younger punk crowd. Which is honestly a really fun environment. Being 25, you kind of forget sometimes what it’s like when you’re 17 and stoked on music. These kids make you remember. They’re running around and just having a blast with you. Got to crowdsurf a basement for the first time. I think Such Gold’s set was awesome and ours pretty solid.
Loud noise, sweat and flailing. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Slowly trickling out, we hug and thank everyone. Bubba is surely happy with the turnout of the show. Unfortunately Such Gold was not staying with us at Bubba’s palace to hang. They were staying with a friend in Binghamton, NY.
Eventually all the drinkers/smokers in the band are hanging out in the van getting their game on. Dave passes out early cause he’s sick. Bubba and Mel (his room mate) also head to bed. With nothing much left to do, I troll around a little on the internet, soon after heading to sleep on a mattress laid on the floor upstairs.
